VirginWorlds MMORPG NewsHost: BrentVirginWorlds is a weekly news podcast covering Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs) such as World of Warcraft, EverQuest, Guild Wars, City of Heroes, Eve Online, Vanguard, Lord of the Rings Online and many many more. The VirginWorlds MMORPG Podcast is the flagship podcast of the VirginWorlds MMO Podcast Collective found at http://www.virginworlds.com

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'Woopsie' by CelestianSubmitted on 2006-07-07 16:43:03 CSTI appologize for that review, you are correct it was to be sent to another Podcast but for whatever reason iTunes sent me there when I made it.

I've requested they remove it or allow me to edit it but as you said I am not sure I can do either. If anyone knows how to edit a review please email me and I'll do so.

Once again, sorries!

'Great show!' by SaylahSubmitted on 2006-07-08 09:41:16 CSTHi Brent. Grats on another great show. I enjoyed having it early and was able to start my Sat liesure time, laying in bed listening to the show. I'll have to check out that Ryzom guide. Personally, I'm finding the game play too awkward atm.

'Thanks Celestian' by BrentSubmitted on 2006-07-09 17:12:51 CSTI've updated a review on iTunes before. All you have to do is login to iTunes and post a review. It will automatically notice that you've done one in the past and allow you to edit it. It isn't obvious that you can 'edit', it just allows you to post a review and automatically overwrites the old one.

I laughed when I got this post. Many thanks for your efforts. As you can tell, I wasn't ticked off or anything, I just thought it was funny that I got someone else's review. It is bound to happen right?

'Ryzom' by BrentSubmitted on 2006-07-09 17:14:15 CSTSaylah, I'm glad you got to start your weekend right! But I'll be back to the regular Sunday schedule again next week. Sorry!

What is it about Ryzom that you're finding awkward? I'm curious.

'Instanced Worlds' by ShawnSubmitted on 2006-07-12 07:03:32 CSTWell, you asked my opinion on the multiple worlds vs one world, here it is :)

To me, having one large world only makes sense, especially for
something billed as a massively multiplayer online game. Its not
Massively fragmented online game. I never really fully understood the way that WoW is played on so many different servers. I mean, ok I understand the way there's a pvp server and a pve server, and the way they need the multiple servers to cut down on lag, etc. But I believe the technology that Arenanet uses to make multiple servers available in Guild Wars, but still allow players to play with any other player they choose is a big selling point of the game, and I'm hoping more MMOs implement this.

Now, with this said, Guild Wars actually does have multiple worlds to a degree. They have different servers for different parts of the world, such as a European server, a Japanese Server, a Korean server and an American Server. Still though, players from any of these areas can still meet in-game in what is known as the international server, which is kind of a middle ground made specifically for this purpose. Whenever I have in-game contests, I use the international server so that people from all over the world can participate. The whole structure works very well in my opinion.

So thats my long-winded 2 cents.Hope it helps!

'Re Ryzom Confusion' by SaylahSubmitted on 2006-07-12 18:35:52 CSTFirst is that I'm a keyboarder - I need hotkeys to survive. I find using the mouse annoying. I can't figure out how to bind my primary skills to a key, nor have I been able to target mobs with the keyboard. Another problem is finding NPCs with quests and figuring out where the mobs are for tha quests. I dont need the glaring ? or ! from WOW but something would be helpful. EQ2 and GW give you general directions on a map. Is there anything like that I just haven't figure out how to turn on?

Lastly, feel that this isn't developed by American designers. I've yet to play games designed by any Asian developers where I've heard can feel differently. I can't put my finger on it, but I can tell these designers weren't American/Canadian. :-)

'French' by BrentSubmitted on 2006-07-13 01:59:32 CSTYes, they're French. Nevrax is based in Paris I believe.

That probably explains some of it, and I agree, the flow of the game isn't quiet as clear as many modern MMOs, but on the same note, I don't find it as clunky as some.

But then again, I'm a believer in complex systems and Ryzom certainly has one... Minutia in the Machine right?

http://www.virginworlds.com/pg.php?n=2128

I can see where this one wouldn't be for everyone, but so far, I likey. And wow, what a fantastic looking world!

'Comments Part 1' by jdunSubmitted on 2006-07-20 00:46:29 CSTFirst off you did a good job on your podcast. May I suggest that it be a little more structured? Maybe all the rants should be put at the end of the program while the latest news should be at the beginning.

Anyway I disagree with the majority of your rants/opinions. Lets start with D&D. I never play D&D online and what I know is from what I read. By the looks of it D&D is a dead MMOG. All they did is hide the weakness of their end game by banning farmers. If their end game is doing the same thing over and over again, force grouping, lack of contents, etc, then don’t expect this game to go anywhere.

People will always mess up when building a character. It doesn’t matter if you’re a novice or an experience player you will mess up at some point in character building. It is not fun to have a gimp character. There is no enjoyment playing a gimp character while seeing your teammates kick ass. In a highly completive PvP game, a wrong mistake in the built however small it is can be the difference between being a winner or loser. No one wants to be a loser. A respec or no regret system should be a basic feature in every MMOG now. It makes no sense not to have it.

It’s very hard to have one persistent world in a server farm. I cannot speak for Eve Online but Guild War hides it under instance. Even the towns are instances this makes it easy to have one world, however it is not practical for a MMOG like WoW. The technology is not there yet.

'Comments Part 2' by jdunSubmitted on 2006-07-20 00:47:31 CSTSir Bruce’s chart is to give an indication of where the MMOG is heading. We can agree that WoW is very popular by the server numbers alone. Auto Assault has one server, it is not close to full. We know SEO is now the most hated MMOG company. Star War Galaxy is dead. EQ1 and EQ2 can’t complete with WoW. Subscription numbers are down for those two games. The hatred will probably affect their upcoming DC MMOG. NCSoft’s CoH/CoV is in a free fall. Grinding in CoH is worst then most Korean’s MMOG. Guild War is doing great but Sir Bruce do not list it because it does not use subscription model. Lineage I and II is going downhill. Korean’s and Asian in general starting to realize that grinding is bad and you can have fun without the grinding. So it is no surprise the numbers are down for Lineage and WoW is up.

I don’t think WoW has anything to fear from War Hammer. EA will take control of Mystic and with the typical EA fashion they will destroy any good MMOG in production. War Hammer won’t be good, you can bet on it.

Selling items for real money is the way of the future for MMOG. If they going to make an economy close to the real world then expect it to trade in real world currency. If a poor person wants to feed his family by selling virtual items then it is find by me. If a person wants to make a living out of selling virtual items then it is find by me as long as there is no fraud. Who am I to judge them? If I were WoW I’ll build a service to help sellers and buyers come together and take a percentage of the sell. The faster MMOG developers realize this the better the MMOG industry will be.

CoH has no loot, it has no economy, and no crafting. That’s the reason why you don’t see people selling items because there is none to sell. The only thing that they can sell is accounts. The whole game is about fighting and grinding.

2. You said you disagree with me on my DDO comments but you don't say how and you've never played it? See podcast

3. for my extended notes on DDO, I haven't been exceptionally kind to that system. In the near future I hope to cover it again with some co-hosts who spent some time running dungeons.

4. I don't follow your thread on messing up character builds..

5. One shard commentary. Yes I understand the technology is a massive challenge there. I'm all too aware of the packet storms caused by areas like the PoK, Ironforge as well as live events such as the recent SWG Restuss fiasco. My comments were directed at the enormous community boons gained in Guild Wars and Eve with regard to their solutions in that area.

6. MMOG charts. Dead MMOs walking? One thing to remember is that the numbers fo EQ and EQ2 haven't fallen off much by old standards. WoW has set a new standard for world domination, but that doesn't mean that EQ1 still isn't making money as they still are maintaining good numbers. Keep in mind that most PC (and nearly all console game) make all their money from box sales and they seem to do just fine. Look at Guild Wars. They have no monthly fees. What I'm saying is that just because a game doesn't have 6 million players doesn't mean it itsn't profitable for a company. A smaller MMO has smaller costs.

7. A large segment of the MMO population feels differently. Myself included.Additionally, it is a EULA violation for every MMO on the shelves. End of story.